The present invention relates to a railway station platform observation method whereby passengers on the platform of a railway station are observed to protect them from danger and injury.
In general, in railway transportation, a number of doors of a multi-car train are simultaneously opened or closed. Each of the doors of the train generally has a device for detecting when a passenger is caught in a door. That is, when a passenger is caught in a door, the door is opened or the train starting circuit is deenergized to prevent injury to the passenger.
However, such devices are limited in detection sensitivity. Specifically, conventional devices often cannot detect when a part of a passenger's clothing, handbag, umbrella or the like is caught in a door. Accordingly, in this case, a considerably dangerous condition may occur whereby the passenger is dragged by the train.
In order to prevent the occurrence of such a dangerous condition, station employees and the conductor must personally observe the situation so that the doors of the train are opened and closed under the condition that the passengers are protected from danger at all times.
In a station where it is difficult for a single station employee or the conductor to observe the whole train such as one where the track is curved, it is necessary to employ a passenger observation system, an example of which is shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 designates an object such as a passenger who is moving; 2, a television camera positioned so as to be able to photograph the platform and the train; and 3, a television monitor connected to the television camera 2, the monitor 3 being installed at a predetermined position in the station office or in a central control room.
With this system, in response to a departure signal, the conductor directly observes the platform and the train as far as he can, observes the dead angle area where his vision is blocked through the monitor 3, and closes the doors only after confirming the safety of the passengers. On the other hand, one or more station employees on the platform directly or through the television monitor also check for the safety of the passengers, and further a controller in the central control room may check for the safety of the passengers through observing the monitor.
In the conventional method of observing a train at a platform as described above, the persons concerned with the passengers'safety must watch the screen of the monitor 3 for long periods at a time, which is tiring. In addition, there is a time delay between the detection of a dangerous condition and the issuance of an instruction to avoid the danger.